


Devil on Her Shoulder

by acuteneurosis



Series: Caught in the Act [11]
Category: Skip Beat!
Genre: Denial of Feelings, F/M, Flirting, PV Filming, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-12 02:55:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18002465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acuteneurosis/pseuds/acuteneurosis
Summary: There are consequences when people keep secrets.





	Devil on Her Shoulder

**Author's Note:**

> Vol 2 Act 8

Kyoko looked at the outfit that the costume director had handed to her and repressed a shudder. She allowed herself one imploring look, but the woman only shook her head.

"He insists," she said apologetically. "We don't have a lot of say when he gets into one of his pets. And he's been really into this project."

"So I've been told," Kyoko sighed. "It's alright. At least it isn't transparent." The woman rolled her eyes.

"We have Asami-san to thank for that. It was something of a close call."

Kyoko's eyes darkened. "Oh?"

"It wasn't all going to be transparent," the woman amended hurriedly. "But Asami-san insisted on being careful and considerate of the actors."

"Actors? I thought I was the only one for this PV."

"Sho was going to play the part, but Asami-san objected again. Something about his previous performances not being up to par, and using the best if he was going to show to best advantage."

"Oh. So who is the other actor?" The woman smiled coyly.

"The best, of course," she answered, before sliding back out the door with a wave. Kyoko swallowed nervously. There was only one actor that she considered the best, and if he was here…

She was in so much trouble.

* * *

Fuwa Sho leaned back against the chair, using the relaxed pose as a cover for his recoil as Tsuruga Ren walked past. He narrowed his eyes slightly, glaring, but Ren ignored him, going to greet Asami. The director thanked him profusely for coming and apologized repeatedly for any trouble they might have caused. Ren, sensing an apology for things yet to come, reassured her that he was not troubled at all.

"I'm looking forward to a new experience," he told her. "And I'm glad for an opportunity to work with Mogami-san again." He saw Sho twitch out of the corner of his eye. "Thank you, by the way, for recommending her to Director Ogata. If you hadn't, she would not have been cast as Mio, and that would have been a great loss."

Sho twitched convulsively, but jerked his head away to demonstrate that he was _not_ listening. Because he did _not_ care. At all.

"Have you looked over the script?" Asami-san asked after a few more pleasantries. "I know there aren't any lines."

"Don't worry," Ren reassured her. "I've done commercials before that were almost exactly like this. Not having a speaking part doesn't limit me."

"I should have known," she laughed. "Ah, Kyoko-chan!"

Ren spun around with as much dignity as he could, frustrated when he realized that Fuwa had still spotted her first. His gaze was fixed solidly on the girl approaching them, rubbing her arm anxiously and glancing up at Ren every so often. He smiled instinctively. She was just too cute sometimes.

"Well, look who finally showed up," Sho drawled, swaggering out of his seat and putting himself directly between her and Ren. "I didn't think the costume would take you so long. Or can't you handle it?"

For a brief second Kyoko smirked, glancing up at Ren, and Cain and Setsu shared a knowing look. Then she looked back at Sho and shrugged.

"It was the makeup that took so long. They wanted the letters clear and easy to read." She pointed to her upper right arm as she spoke, indicating the black block letters written there, spelling in English "Dangerous Girl."

"Looks like they did a good job," Ren noted casually, drawing her attention to himself again. "Is everyone ready now?"

With a clap of her hands, Asami called the crew to order and they began to get the actors placed for the first scene.

* * *

The plot of the PV was simple. The song was a about a man falling in love with a seemingly innocent girl who had a secret, seductive side to her. Ren and Kyoko would interact in a series of shots on the street, Ren's character catching sight of a strange girl in a long coat, walking along with her face towards the sky, a warm, sweet smile on her face. Enthralled by this angelic figure, he began to follow her, and she in turn eventually turned her face from the sky and gave all of her attention to him.

The climax came when Ren's character returned home one day and opened his door to find himself not in his apartment, but in a bizarre room decorated in yellow wallpaper with broad pink stripes covered in little white flowers. The room was empty except for the young woman he had been following. Having discarded her coat, she was seen to be dressed in a high-necked white slip with long, white, lace trimmed gloves and stockings. Her image should have been one of an innocent sweetness. But the look she gave him was anything but. Determination and an almost sly stare were on her face. The words on her arm were clearly visible to Ren's character, and he would swallow slowly. When the video was finished, the final chorus would play, the suggestive words finally fitting with Kyoko's character's behavior. She would stand, saunter over to him, wrap her arms around his neck, and drag him through a door at the back of the set. The video would finish eventually with a series of shots of Sho singing.

The filming almost went smoothly, but there was a brief argument between Sho and Asami that delayed things.

"It doesn't need to be so suggestive," he hissed after he refused to accept their first take of the final scene.

"Sho, the whole point of your song was to be suggestive. Her actions fit the song. You wanted the scene this way," she sighed, shaking her head.

"That was before," he growled in response, his eyes flying to where Kyoko was standing, several meters away, to make sure she could not hear. "When I was going to be in it. I told you to change it!" he hissed.

"And I told you no," she responded in a level tone. "I told you that we were hiring another actor because you don't do well at on screen acting. The _Prisoner_ PV went well because Kyoko pulled you and Mimori through the difficult scenes and Mimori is obsessed enough with you that your flattery and flirting can come off looking like love. But I don't need the difficulty and scandal that would come with you trying to play a romantic role with Kyoko-san."

"Scandal?" Sho demanded, incredulous.

"Tsuruga Ren is also a well-known and respected actor. Having him in your video shows that you have the kind of money and respect needed to hire him. And I know that he can work with Kyoko-san. Hiroaki-kun told me more than enough about the _Dark Moon_ filming for me to be sure of that. You and she barely made it through the last PV, and while I trust her professionalism, Shoko-san and I both doubt whether you could do the same." Sho stared, flabbergasted.

"I can do it," he growled. Asami just shook her head.

"I have a job to do," she told him sternly. "Tsuruga-san has taken time out of his schedule to do this, and I won't waste it. I won't waste Kyoko-san's time either. Move the camera so we can take the shot from the next angle!" she called out to her staff.

* * *

Kyoko sighed as she flopped into the chair in her dressing room. There had been a few scenes where Sho had been hovering in the background of her and Ren's character's interacting, and those scenes had gone through multiple retakes before they had been okayed. Ren and Kyoko had done just fine. Sho had not.

"Feeling sorry for him?" Ren asked from the doorway, startling her. She frowned at him.

"You shouldn't be in here," she scolded him, a blush on her face. "What if someone sees you?"

"Like Fuwa? Would that be a problem? Were you planning on getting back together with him?"

Kyoko pouted. "No!"

"Then why are you here?" he asked in a serious voice.

Kyoko bit her lip, considering. When she noticed Ren growing stone faced and a little pale, she said hurriedly, "I wanted to be professional."

"By acting as his lover?" His voice was tight and Kyoko fought panic and a sense of betrayal.

"I didn't want to play the role," she said as strongly as she could. "I wanted to prove that I wasn't tied down by him anymore. That I wasn't afraid of what he could do to me."

"So you hid it from me? You kept it from me and let me hear about it from his producer when she called to offer me the part? You assumed you would be acting with him and didn't think I wanted to know?"

"I… I was scared," she whispered. "I was scared you would ask me not to do it. And I wouldn't be able to tell you no."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't want to have to pretend to love him. To be attracted to him. And if you asked me not to, even if you weren't serious, I would have rejected it." She hesitated for a moment before adding, "Because I love you." She stared at the floor as she said it, purposefully avoiding his tender smile.

"I didn't ask you," he pointed out. "Even when I found out about it."

"That's because you knew we would be acting together," she retorted. "You didn't mind then."

"Then what's the problem now?" Ren asked, smirking. "I can't ask you to quit the job at this point. You don't need to be so worried about me being here."

"I was going to change," Kyoko mumbled, poking her fingers together and glancing up at him under her lashes. "This outfit is… embarrassing."

Ren looked her over for a long moment, a glimmer in his eyes brightening. "I don't see a problem with it. It's not much worse than some of the stuff you wore as Setsu. Besides," the smile grew more pronounced, "you look good in it."

"You aren't supposed to mention that assignment," Kyoko whined, wrapping her arms around her waist. "And I don't care if I look good in it. There isn't enough of it." She squeaked as Ren crossed over to her abruptly and knelt in front of her, propping his elbows on the arms of her chair and grabbing her face in his hands.

"There isn't much of it," he agreed quietly, his thumb stroking her face. "But that doesn't have to be a bad thing."

"Even though a lot of people are going to see me in it, trying to seduce you?" she questioned, still obviously upset. Ren chuckled.

"You could seduce me in an oversized, dirty sack," he informed her cheerfully. "And most of Fuwa's fans are girls. _And_ those that aren't get to see me getting the girl. So it's a worthwhile tradeoff."

"I still don't understand how you can say embarrassing things like that," Kyoko mumbled, trying to turn her face away. His hands kept her firmly in place.

"Practice," he informed her. "And it's all true, which helps as well." They gazed at each other for a long moment.

"Are you going to kiss me again?" she asked in a small voice, the color growing in her cheeks again.

"Of course," he replied before closing the distance between them. When he pulled away Kyoko sighed softly, resting her forehead against his.

"I shouldn't have let you do that," she told him, smiling softly. He chuckled.

"You've never been able to stop me. Not the first time, and not any time since then."

"Well, I wasn't expecting my 'big brother' to do something like that," she answered defensively. "And even you said that you shouldn't have done it."

"Well, not while we were still acing as siblings," he conceded. "But I still don't regret it. Even with the two months of misunderstandings and you not knowing how you were supposed to act Setsu after that, and me trying to work up the courage to finish confessing to you."

"And then you did it on accident," she giggled. "All because I fell in a pool."

"Well, it seemed like a good time to tell you I love you," he answered with another warm smile.

"You still mean it?" Kyoko asked timidly. "Right?" Ren kissed her again.

"Always."

"Hey!" an irate shout came from the doorway. The couple looked over to see Sho watching them, livid.

"Something wrong, Fuwa-kun?" Ren asked with a bright, sparkling smile. Sho looked between the glittering Ren and the blushing Kyoko with no small amount of irritation.

"Filming's over," he snapped. "So you can get your hands off her and get out of her dressing room."

"Kyoko, do you want me to leave?" Ren asked, turning a begging face towards her. Chagrin at being caught was instantly replaced with irritation at being manipulated in such a way. Why did he always have to make that face?

"Yes," she told him sternly, pointing at the exit with an imperative finger.

"Alright," Ren answered smoothly, taking the rebuff with aplomb and placing another kiss on her cheek as he stood. "You do still need to change. Fuwa-kun and I will leave you to finish." He moved to the door, grabbing Sho by the arm and dragging the swearing, struggling young man out with him, calling over his shoulder, "Come get me when you finish. We'll go to dinner."

"Right," Kyoko called out after him, watching the door shut and sighing again, then chuckling as she imagined Maria scolding her for letting luck escape. Well, luck was good and all, but Kyoko was not so sure she needed it anymore. After all, she had Ren. And with Ren, she had magic.

Who needed anything more than that?


End file.
